Readers will recall the stir caused by the dual use of the Peninsula Track during lockdown last year with the clash of interests of walkers and cyclists. Our lobbying of the Council was followed up with attending the AGM of the Queenstown Trails Trust (QTT) to draw its attention to the latent conflict in the dual use of the trails, particularly on Kelvin Peninsula.
While lockdown saw an extraordinary spike in use, given the long term growth plans of QTT (annual increase in use of trails by 5% to 8% by locals and 6% to 10% by visitors), we can assume the conflict will re-emerge, all the more so with the added incentives of the Wakatipu Way to Go Active Travel programme. We suggested there is a need to explore how best to encourage cyclists to recognise the dual use nature of some of the tracks so as to encourage those who would prefer to avoid walkers to plan their outings accordingly.
Recently, the QLDC Parks team installed temporary corflute signs along the QTT trails, including on Kelvin Peninsula, to promote that ‘Trails are for Everyone’. As they explain:
“This initiative is in response to community concerns of user conflict between bikes, walkers, dogs, prams etc. Our hope is to influence positive user behaviour with fun and catchy messages that draw user attention.
“The intent with temporary signage is to allow for the campaign to move around the district as needed. This helps reduce excessive signage and catches user attention as people tend to notice things that are new. The signs will remain in their current locations for approx. 2 months (through Easter) and then will be shifted to other areas such as Frankton Track, Lake Hayes, Hāwea etc. until Winter, at which point will be collected for reuse next Summer.”
What is our reaction to these new signs? The Parks team is looking to us to provide feedback and comments. Please let us have your responses and experiences via comment here, or on our FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/KelvinPeninsula/; or to our email: talk2kpca@gmail.com